GWEN was part of the Strategic Modernization Program designed to upgrade the nation's strategic communication system, thereby strengthening the value of nuclear deterrence. The GWEN communication system, established in the late 1980s, was designed to transmit critical Emergency Action Messages (EAM) to United States nuclear forces. EMP can produce a sudden power surge over a widespread area, that could overload unprotected electronic equipment and render it inoperable. In addition, EMP would interfere with radio transmissions that use the ionosphere for propagation. GWEN would use a ground-hugging wave for propagation, being unaffected by the EMP.[2]

Analysis showed that low frequency (150-190 kilohertz) radio transmissions were largely unaffected by high altitude EMP, and the Air Force Weapons Laboratory (Kirtland Air Force Base) tested a small scale 'groundwave' transmission system in 1978-1982. Based on the groundwave concept's promise, USAF Headquarters issued a draft Program Management Directive (PMD) for a "Proliferated Groundwave Communications System (PGCS)" on 25 August 1981. The name of this proposed network system was changed from PGCS to Groundwave Emergency Network in February 1982[4] The Air Force placed a tentative initial operating capability for GWEN by January 1992.[3]

I/O stations could send and receive messages. ROs only received messages transmitted through I/Os. Dispersed and unmanned RNs, would provide continuous relay links between I/Os and ROs. The I/Os and ROs would reside at locations with strategic military forces, and the RNs would be scattered throughout the country on government or privately leased land. Distance between the relay nodes were determined by the ground wave transmission wavelength, at intervals of approximately 150–200 miles.[2]

Originating stations would send ultra high frequency (UHF) signals by broadcast towers for line-of-site receipt at relay nodes (RNs). The RNs would retransmit received messages via LF signals for ultimate reception by receive-only (RO) terminals at existing military communication buildings.

During initial operations, the towers would receive and relay brief test messages every 20 minutes.[3] The system had built-in redundancy, using packet switching techniques for reconstruction of connectivity if system damage occurs.[5]

Early in its lifetime, electrical interference problems caused by GWEN system operation began to surface. Since the stations were using LF, the chosen frequency was within 1 kHz of the operating frequency of nearby electrical carrier current systems. With GWEN handling constant voice, teletype and other data traffic, interference was noticed by local power companies on a diagnostic two kilohertz side carrier tone – if the carrier disappeared, the power grid would interpret that as a system fault.[6]

GWEN transmitting antennas consisted of a concrete foundation, 2 feet (0.61 m) above grade, a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m) insulator, a 290-foot (88 m) steel tower, and 4-foot (1.2 m) lightning rods, all enclosed by a 42-foot (13 m) × 47-foot (14 m), 8-foot-high (2.4 m) chain link fence topped with barbed wire. The tower itself would be supported by 15 guy wires attached to the ground at six anchor points. Surrounding the tower, and attached to it at the top and anchored in the ground by concrete blocks would be 12 top-loading elements (TLEs). The purpose of the TLEs is to improve antenna efficiency. Anchors for the TLEs and guy wires were within the site boundaries.

The GWEN transmitter sites include:

A 299-foot (91 m) broadcast antenna tower

A large ground plane, designed for ground conductivity conditions at the site

An antenna tuning unit enclosure at the base of the tower

Two equipment shelters

Electronic racks that will accept the DGPS equipment

All utilities that are required for operation of the DGPS broadcast site

Electronic equipment was housed in three shelters. Two of the shelters were located inside the fenced area at the perimeter of the property, and the third at the base of the tower. The equipment area and the tower base were surrounded by locked, 8-foot-high (2.4 m) chain-link fences topped with barbed wire.

In addition, each node had a UHF antenna and an LF receive antenna on a ten-foot mast located inside the equipment area. The main GWEN antenna operated intermittently in the LF band at 150 to 175 kilohertz (kHz) (below the bottom of the AM broadcast band at 530 kHz). The peak broadcasting power was from 2,000 to 3,000 watts. The UHF antenna operated at 20 watts, between 225 and 400 megahertz (MHz).

Citizen public protest groups stood up in Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and California to band together to fight construction of GWEN towers in their areas. The groups believed that the presence of a GWEN node would increase the community's "strategic worth" in the eyes of the Soviet Union. Responding to the protest groups, the Air Force repeatedly downplayed the importance of the towers, stating they were not worth that kind of attention by the Soviet Union.[3]